Tuesday, September 24, 2013

What Once was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer

The setting of this book is in 1890, on a small Kansas farm, where Christina Willems cares for a unique group of individuals that have been displaced and don't have money to stay elsewhere. Some are orphaned children, some elderly individuals, one young woman who became pregnant at a young age. They all connect in a unique way and love and help one another. Then, a fire hits their home and they have no where to go. Miss Willems finds places for everyone to stay while their farm house gets fixed, however, no one will take the young blind boy, Tommy. Miss Willems approaches the reclusive mill owner, Levi Johnson, and he says yes, after Miss Willems pushes him really hard. The bond that Tommy and Levi build surprises everyone. Then, obstacles for rebuilding the farm begin to come up and Miss Willems is faced with major decisions. She also starts to build a friendship with Levi that affects her future much too.

I enjoyed this book- it only took me two days to read it. I could relate to the heart of Miss Willems and also her struggle to find herself in the midst of loving others. I appreciated the learning she did along the way in the book about how you can't continue to serve out of your own strength, but how she needed to see her mission as God's work that she was taking part of. I also loved the growth that Tommy, the young blind boy did in the book. He started out very insecure and feeling unloved and unwanted. By the end of the book, he had grown in so many ways. His character really connected with my heart. This was a great book. I'd definitely suggest it to others!

*This is a Blogging for Books review- check out this great opportunity to receive free new books for the option of blogging and reviewing about them!